February 24, 2019 - Nha Trang, Vietnam - Sunday, Day 49

February 24, 2019 - Nha Trang, Vietnam - Sunday, Day 49

We have never visited Nha Trang before so we chose to do a ships excursion. 

We were a little discouraged because our first stop was to be another temple. That did not last long because we soon learned that this temple was different fro the many others we have visited. This temple is dedicated to the homeless. It provides housing, food and care for many homeless or abandoned  children. There is even a nursery. We visited the simple worship space and also observed a class of a large number of young people learning the tenets of Buddhism. 

The atmosphere of caring permeated these grounds. 

A short walk from the temple took us to a home where women were weaving traditional mats. We saw how the plant leaves are separated and spun into “threads. These are dried and then colored with natural colors. Then the weavers go to work to create the mats. They adjust the loom to make the mats in the correct size for the order. We watched in fascination as two ladies quickly worked on a large mat that would be used as a type of mattress. The younger lady operated the loom while the older woman passed the colored “thread” into the loom. 

They offered one small mat and several place mats for sale. We bought one of the place mats. The woman rolled it up and tied the roll around the middle with some of the reed. She then passed it to another woman who tie a length of reed around one end of the roll and then around the other end . This made a sling to place over my shoulder for transporting it. This worked very well.

We Bought This One

After a quick ride we were at the city market. Again we viewed an abundance of fresh fish and produce with a limited amount of meat.

Then we made our way to an old traditional house with a small temple/shrine inside. The rooms were small but comfortable. The beds had mats for mattresses similar to the one we had seen being woven. There was a garden where we drank tea. The outdoor furniture was made from tree slabs and branches with a beautiful natural finish. The tea was comforting.

No tour can end without a stop for shopping. The was no exception. We stopped at a silk embroidery factory. A docent explained the history of the art and told us how it is done today. Then we stepped into the workroom to observe two of the artisans at work. They not only stitch the work, they also choose the colors. We saw one woman carefully laying new thread on her work in progress in order to establish a proper color transition. She made an excellent choice. 

We finished the visit in a large gallery. There were pieces of different sizes and complexity. These factors all accounted for the pricing of the finished work. Alice and I avoided the double sided embroidered pieces. These are museum quality pieces priced in the high 5 and 6 digits. We looked at some larger pieces that were beautiful and out of our price range. I was attracted to one nice piece depicting a boat with a Vietnamese bridge in the background. Alice agreed that it was suitable and we closed the deal. The listed price included the frame. It was a nice frame but not great, and it would have been a royal pain to transport. For a price reduction of $5 they would remove the piece from the frame, fold it nicely and place it in a small box. This was a real plus. It will go home nicely.

Ours is like the small one.

We found Nha Trang to be beautiful city. It was very clean. The people were friendly and helpful. It was not being overdeveloped for tourism. Yet. We would happily visit here again. 

We met a couple on the cruise before arriving here who have booked 2 weeks at a resort here after the cruise. They had never been here before. When we saw them on the ship at the end of the day, they were elated that they would be returning in early March. How lucky is that?